For the environment

Recycling

Our National Distribution Centre in Manchester has been used to develop best practice in recycling. We worked closely with the Environment Agency, who audited our site in 2009 and made a number of recommendations to improve its performance. 

Since then, 11 recycling centres have been installed and desk bins removed so everything is segregated into waste streams. All paper, confidential documents, plastics, cans and plastic cups are recycled. Any packaging that cannot be re-used is compacted and sold, generating an annual income of over £30,000 with a third of this revenue going to charity.  As a result, we recycled 113 tonnes of cardboard and 30 tonnes of plastic in 2009 compared to 81 tonnes of cardboard and 16 tonnes of plastic in 2008.

Energy management

In our National Distribution Centre in Manchester we’ve installed an air source heat pump, which converts air drawn from the atmosphere into a heat source. This is used to heat the radiators, cutting down on the amount of gas we use.

We've also fitted monitors to measure wind speeds and solar energy, with a view to installing a wind turbine and solar panels in the future. This has been provided as part of a Carbon Trust loan to improve energy efficiencies as a contribution to reducing carbon emissions.

We've installed motion sensor lighting in areas where continuous lighting is not necessary, and a major refit of lighting is underway. As well as improving our environmental performance, we expect to save a significant proportion of our energy costs.